Stepien to Baroni: 'Great job' in lane-closure testimony before Legislature

Documents show Christie's campaign manager was in the loop about GWB access lane closures

Mar. 18, 2014

Written by

@BobJordanAPP

TRENTON — New emails released by the special legislative committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closures cast more light on the aggressive political mindset of some of Gov. Chris Christie’s advisers and allies.

But the documents, more than 100 pages produced as part of the latest filings in an ongoing court case, did not deliver any new blockbuster elements in the scandal.

The briefs, emails and text messages filed Monday were intended to provide further evidence that Christie’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, was plugged into discussions of the incident soon after the September lane closings. They also showed Stepien’s political edge.

Stepien wrote to former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni in November and told Baroni he did a “great job” in trying to convince lawmakers the lane closures were necessary to conduct a traffic study.

“I know it’s not a fun topic, and not nearly as fun as beating up on Frank Lautenberg, but you did great, and I wanted to thank you,” said Stepien, apparently also referring to Baroni’s contentious testimony at an April 2012 hearing chaired by the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg in Washington.

State Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson heard arguments last week over whether former Christie Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly and Stepien should be compelled to comply with subpoenas issued by the special investigative committee.

Kelly’s and Stepien’s attorneys argued that the subpoenas violated their rights against self-incrimination and unreasonable search. The investigative panel contended the subpoenas do not violate their rights. The panel brought the case before Jacobson after Kelly and Stepien refused to comply with the subpoenas.

Christie fired Stepien in January when emails surfaced showing that the closures were not authorized through normal government channels. He also fired Kelly.

The court filing, according to committee chairman John Wisniewski, provides communications showing Stepien was regularly included in conversations with members of the Christie administration, his campaign staff and Port Authority officials about the lane closures.

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“There’s no amazing new ground broken in these documents but they offer clarification of the involvement the governor’s political team had in communications in the aftermath of the lane closures, whether it dealt with press inquiries or Bill Baroni’s testimony in Trenton,” said Wisniewski, a Democratic assemblyman from Middlesex County. “It shows that there seems to have been an accepted protocol and it gives a greater understanding of the communication that took place between those involved in the government and political people.’’

The filing was ordered by Jacobson, who said she will issue a decision soon on whether Stepien and Kelly must turn over records to the investigating committee.

It was Kelly’s emails with former Port Authority executive David Wildstein that established a link between the lane closings and the governor’s office.

“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Kelly wrote to Wildstein, a Christie ally at the authority, in August.

“Got it,” Wildstein replied.

Wildstein resigned from the authority as the investigation into the closings began to ramp up.

Attorneys for Stepien and Kelly, who have until next week to file answers, could not be reached for comment.

The new documents also show a first email link to Michael DuHaime, a top Christie political consultant. A campaign official asked DuHaime and Stepien for advice on how to respond to an inquiry about the closures from the Wall Street Journal. No record of any response by DuHaime was released.